For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..

Romans 3:23

I think that Christians are often described as hypocritical. Their lives may not add up all the time to their actions. The expectation is that Christians should be perfect and without flaw. The truth is, that is impossible.

Why? Because we all are human. We all are flawed, make mistakes, and fall short of the glory of God. There is only one person who walked this earth blameless and without sin, Jesus Christ.

It becomes discouraging when fellow Christians cast judgement in the same way. This can cause us to step back and allow shame to overtake the truths of what God says about us. We may feel that the Church isn’t all it says it is and we stop attending; and that eventually leads us to start separating from God. Our hearts may grow bitter and we question if those relationships we made were even real.

We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Have you ever been let down by someone who you thought was a good Christian friend? I have. I found myself in a place where my actions did not line up to my faith that I proclaimed. I felt incredible shame, guilt, and confusion and didn’t reach out to those same friends. So I guess in part it was my fault. At the same time, I expected them to still be there for me. I expected forgiveness, grace, and love. I expected them to be perfect, when in reality, they were just as capable of making mistakes too. I miss those friendships, but I also learned a great deal about them. I saw how I needed to change in my relationships and that I too was incredibly judgmental. My expectations couldn’t be met by an imperfect person.

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:8

If we could be perfect then their wouldn’t have been a need for a Savior. What would be the point? God sent His son to die for our sins because we were failing. We were unable to keep the law and God saw this. In order for any of us to spend eternity with Him, there had to be a final sacrifice.

Our God knew then and knows now that we will always fall short. Falling short comes in many forms. I think sometimes we only focus on what some call “major sins”: murder, adultery, etc. While those are definitely sins, there are others that we tend to overlook, and maybe we overlook them because we don’t want to admit we all sin. Some examples are : drunkenness, lying, gossiping, pornography, greed, divorce, etc. The hard truth is that there is no sin greater than the other. I believe this because our Heavenly Father forgives us of each sin, no matter the severity, as long as we ask for forgiveness and truly repent. The Lord says,

I, I am he, who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Isaiah 43:25

I am a hypocritical Christian. I will no longer feel shame and guilt when I am labeled that. I can walk in boldness, courage, and forgiveness because of what Christ did for me on that cross.

Let us all remember that we are in need of a Savior, and it is because of Him that we can walk freely in His grace alongside of Him.

To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.

C. S. Lewis

Living by grace,

Misty